Door-check.



c. G. FAIRCHILD.

DOOR CHECK.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21. |9|3.-

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

A TTOR/VEYJ run srA'r s PATENT enrich.

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DOOR-CHECK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

Application filed February 21,1913. Serial No. 749,785.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES G. FAIR- CHILD, a citizen of the United States, residingat Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Checks, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper-tains to make and use theysame.

I This invention relates to door checks, and with regard to certain morespecific features, to a device adapted to retard the closing movement of a swinging door.

One object within the contemplation of this invention is to provide a reliable and practical checking mechanism in which the retarding features of the expensive and troublesome devices now in use are retained and improved upon without the many obvious disadvantages attendantupon the use of such devices.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive and easily constructed device of the specified nature for positively and eifectively checking the closing movement of a door, whether said movement be due to Wind pressure, to closing devices such :as springs, to manual force, or to a ,combina tion of these agencies.

Another object is to provide an arrangement of parts whereby a retarding element performs half its cycle of operation to check the momentum of the closing door, and then completes its cycle of operation as the door approaches its closed position, all with little or no strain upon the hinge-members of the door. v

Another object within the scope of the in vention is to provide asimple, reliable and easily constructed checking mechanism adapted to exert no opposition whatever to the opening movement of the door. V I

Another object is to provide a device of the character described which efi ectively prevents the slamming of the :door and yet diminishes in .no way the closing action of the springs or other agency while the door is shut, whereby .the door may be kept closed even against aconsiderable wind pressure without the use-of, latches. p

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which are illustrated one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Figure 1' is a p'lan view, partly diagrammatic, of 521, preferred form of checking mechanism located, in this case, adjacent the top surface of the door and viewed from beneath; Fig. 2 is a detail plan view 1611 a larger scale of the cushiondevioe and asso ciated parts shown in Fig. 1, portions being broken away to show more clearly the interior structure; and Fig; 3 is'an elevation corresponding to Fig. 2, with parts shown as in a section taken on line 33, iFig. 1.

.Similar're-ference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there-is illustrated in the walls 1 an opening adapted to he closed when desired by the door 2, shown in the present instance as adapted to swing on the vertical hinges 3 from a position 4 of rest against the jamb 5 to or beyond .a position 6 "to be designated,

for convenience, as the open ipositionnlof the door, although is obvious that the movement of the door is not necessarily restricted to the angle 7 subtended by the planes 4,, '6 at the hinges 3. Closing means (forming themselves {no part of the present invention) such as a weight, or ;a non vertical arrangement of the .door, 101' prefer: ably the springs illustrated -c onventionally at 8 tend at-all times during normal operation to cause the door to close or maintain it in its closed position, 121-8 the case may be. By virtue of certain features of the inven tion to be set forth :in detail later on I am enabled to usei-n connection with the checking mechanism, springs 8 of {considerable power, so that the :door may be retained in its closed position by thesprings alone without the necessity of providingthe customary latches.

The checking mechanism per {sq Icomprises a member located, in the present instance, on the lintefl and adapted to cooperate at predetermined times with a second member secured to the door. For reasons that will appear as the description 'proceeds,'1[ prefer to mount the parts as indicated, although the relative locations thereof may be interchanged without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The door member comprises simply a projection 9 extending inwardly from the plane of the door from a point adjacent the top surface thereof and is located preferably close to the vertical plane at right angles to the door and passing through the center of mass thereof; the projection is secured to the door as at 10, 11 by set screws or other suitable retaining means. This projection 9 is preferably sufficiently strong and so braced that its end 12 will not be distorted from its initial position with respect to the door by the stresses occurring during the operation of the checking device. In operative engagement with the end 12 of the projection 9 duringthe latter part of the closing movement of the door is the element 18 (Figs. 2 and 3) fixed to the movable member of a suitable checking device such as the rod 1 1 secured to the piston head 15 which reciprocates within the cylinder 16 filled with a fluid (such as oil or air) and provided with suitable means for restricting the passage of fluid into or out of the respective portions of the cylinder. A regulator adapted to restrict the flow to the dc-' sired extent is shown in the present instance as comprising a tubular by-pass 17 connected with either end of the cylinder 16 and adapted to be almost entirely closed throughout the desired portion of its length by the screw-threaded member'lS co-axial with the tubular by-pass 17 Lock nuts or other suitable locking devices are provided to maintain thescrew-threadedmember 18 in its adjusted position. 'The fluid in order to pass through the tube 17 from one end of the cylinder to the other must pass around or over a predetermined adjustable number of turns of the screw-threads of the member 18, and I have found that an efiective resistance is offered to the passage of the fluid not only by virtue of the tortuous path around the screw-threads but by the friction resulting from the confluence of the fluid streams passing respectively over and along the screw-threads. Needless to say, the device is capable of preciseadjustment, if necessary, in the manner well known in micrometers. The checking piston device 19, comprising the rod 14, piston head 15, cylinder 16 and by-pass device 17, 18, ismounted to swing as a whole abouta vertical pivot 20 against the action of the spring 21 from a position of rest against the adjustable stop 22. It may be stated at this point that if the door is intended toswing in'the opposite direction to that shown in the drawings,

the only changes needed in the checking mechanism are to reverse the connections of the spring 21 so that the positionof rest of the checking device 19 will be against the stop 23 instead of against the stop 22.

The element 13, which partakes of course of the rectilinear movements of the piston rod 14, is shaped in such a way as to engage the end 12 of the projection 9 from the time the door completes at the position 24: the first portion25 of its closing movement until the door is entirely shut. This angular travel 26 may be sub-divided for convenience into three angular displacements 27, 28, 29 termed respectively the second, third and fourth portions of the closing movement. During the first portion 25 the door closes under the action of the springs 8 unopposed by the checking mechanism. At the end of the first portion 25, that is, at the line 24:, the end 12 of the projection 9 fixed. with respect to the door 2 engages the concave part of the element 13 secured to the piston rod 11;

a piece of leather or other noise-deadening device (not shown) being attached, if desired, to the projection 9 or to the element 13 or to both; at this time, as will be clear from Fig. 1, the piston device is held parallcl to the projection 9 and therefore normal to the plane of the door by the spring 21 urging the checking device 19 against the adjustable stop 22. The continued closing of the door results in the rectilinearmovement of the rod 14 toward the pivotal point 20 of the checking device 19, as well as in the rotation of the checking device as a whole about said pivotal point away from the stop 22 in opposition to the force exerted by the spring 21, the movement of the end'12 of the projection 9 at an increased angle 30 to the rod, comprising a component parallel to the piston rod efiective in pushing in the rod and a component at right angles thereto by virtue of which the. checking device 19 as a whole rotates about the pivotal point 20.

At the initial position 24 of engagement,

and for an appreciable angular travel there I after, the angle 30 is so small that the resisting power of the checking device, exerted in a direction practically normal to the door, is all effective in checking the movement of the door, with the result that'a cylinder of As the second portion 27 of the movement progresses, the increasing angle 30 between the projection 12 and the piston rod 1% results in less opposition to the movement of the door,.together with a greater angular velocity of the checking device 19 about the pivot 20. At the end 31 of the second portion 27 the rod 14: has completed its inward force exerted by the'spring 2.1.

rectilinear stroke, the checking device has,

door takes place, of course, at .an increased speed and the door quickly reaches the end 32 of the third portion 28 of its closing movement, where the rod It is about to be pulled outward away from the pivot .20 by the force exerted by the projection 9 at the now obtuse angle 30 to the rod 14. From this point 32 throughout the fourth portion 29 of the closing mouement'the checking force increases, due to the increase of the angle 30, and as a consequence the speed of the door is positively and efi'ectively reduced to a predetermined and sufficiently low value as the door reaches its final position against the jamb 5. When the motion of the door has ceased, and as long as the door remains closed, the full force of the springs '8 undiminished (save for the negligible action of the spring '21) by any actionof "the checking apparatus is effective to hold the door shut. By making these springs of -.considerable power, which can readily be done without impairing the retarding ieificiency of the checking mechanism, it becomes un necessary to provide a latch or other lock to keep the door closed.

When the door is opened from its closed position, the end 12 of the projection 9 fixed to the door describes the arc of a circle, i ndicated at 33 (Fig. 1), and almost instantaneously rides out of the concave portion of the element 13 to the point 34 on this arc. Owing to the magnitude of the angle 30 and to the fact that the smooth surface '35 of the projection 9 slides readily past the abutment 36 of the element 13, the end 12 of the projection 9 reaches the position '34 without exerting suflicient torce upon the ole. ment 13 to move the latter rectilinearly inward toward the cylinder 16; the movement of the element 13, if itihave any during this slight angular travel outward'of, the door 2, comprises an almost negligible clockwise rotation, together with the rod 14: and other elements of the checking device .19 about the pivot 20 as a center, .in opposition to the Whcnthe end of the projection 9 has reached the position 34, it will then simply ride in wardly over the surface 37 of the element 13 and overmoreor less of the rod. 14:, according to the proportions employed in actual practice for the several parts of the apparatus, the element 13 and rod 1t being held against the end 12 of the projection 9 by means of the coil spring 21. When the door has opened to approximately the position 32, the end 12 of theprojection 9 will begin to slide outwardly along the rod 14: and then along the surface 37 of the element 13, the piston continuing to rotate counter-clockwise (Fig. 1) under the influence of the spring 21 until the door is opened beyond the position 24, after which time :the checking device rests against the stop 22 with the .rod 14 extended and the element1'3 ready to engage the end 12 of the projection 9 when the door again closes to the position 24. The opening of the door, it is noted, involves no rectilinear movement of the rod 14k and hence no more efiort is required to open the door than would be needed if the check were not used. If the door is opened only part way or is closed only part way and then opened again, the arrangement and design of parts is such that after practically every combination of movements. (except a movement from the closed position throughout an angle less than the angle 29) thedoor when released will close with a final velocity substantially the same as in the closing operations described in detail above. If, for example, the piston head 15 is not at the outer end of its travel,

but is adjacent the inner end'of the cylinder 16, the end 12 of the projection 9 will strike the extension 33 of the element 13 some time during the second portion 270]? the closing movement; the end 12 will then slide upon the surface of this extension 27 into the concave part of the element 13 and the third and fourth portions of the closing movement will take place as before.

By virtue of the double stroke of the piston :or other cushion device (during the second and tourth portions of the closing movement) instead of a single stroke, not only is it unnecessary :to force the piston head toward or away from the pivot '20 during the opening of the door, but the cylinder need be only half the ordinary size to do a given amount of work.

A corollary advantage is gained by an arrangement such as the present one which allows a check of small dimensions to be actuated by a door-carried element throughout aconsiderable travel of the door. This advantage resides-in having the resisting power of the check applied to the door at a point remote from the hinges, such as a point substantially in the vertical line through the center of mass of the door. It

will be clear that this arrangement allows the resisting power of the check to be applied to the door so that no amount of momentum or" the door however great, will cause the lateral strain on the hinges that is necessarily incident to the operationof any checking mechanism that acts on the door at a point ncar'the hinges; It will thus be seen that there is provided an -'appara us'in' which the several objects of this invention are .achievedand in which & V

the above and other advantages are ob tained.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely difierent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above descrip tion or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

, Having described my'invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1; Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means normally tending to close the door, and means comprising a retarding device provided with members, said device being arranged to provide relative movement in two directions of said members and effective to movement by said relative movement in two directions of said members. I

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, and a device mounted partly on the lintel and partly on the door and adapted to retard the closing movement of the door by virtue of the relative movement of retarding portions of said device, said device being adapted during the closing movement of the door to bring said retarding portions into their proper position relative to each other to retard the next closing movement of the door, the part on said lintel and the part on said door being separated from each other when the door is suliiciently open. i

3. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means normally tending to close the door, and means located partly on the lintel and partly on the door comprising a piston adapted to retard the closing of the door by both its inward and outward motion, the part on said lintel and the part on said door being separated from each other when the door is sufficiently open. 7

4. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means normally tending to close the door, and

means comprising a piston arranged for movement in two directions and moving and retarding by a single stroke in each direction during the closing movement of the door, whereby said means is adapted to retard the closing movement of the door during two tarding device comprising a piston and a cylinder adapted to retard the rectilinear movement of said piston, and means whereby said device rotates bodily and said piston moves rectilinearly with respect to said cylinder during the closing movement of the door, the device rotating bodily but the piston maintaining its position with respect to the cylinder during the opening movement of the door.

6. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, a retarding device comprising a piston and means adapted to retard the rectilinear movement of said piston, and means whereby said device rotates bodily and said piston moves rectilinearly in one direction and then in the reverse direction during the closing movement of the door, said second means being adapted to effect the return rotative movement of the device during the opening of the door but to obviate the rectilinear movement of the piston during the opening of the door.

7 Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means normally tending to close the door, a piston, means adapted to retard the rectilinear movement of said piston, and means whereby said piston moves rectilinearly during the closing movement only, the initial rectilinear movement of said piston being exerted in a direction substantially normal to the plane of the door.

8. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means located on the lintel comprising a piston and a device adapted to retard the rectilinear movement of the piston, means on the door adapted to engage said piston and move it rectilinearly in both directions during the closing movement of the door, and means for returning said first means during the opening movement of the door to position for engagement with said second means, said second means acting in opening without causing rectilinear movement of the piston.

9. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, a retarding device comprising a piston, means for rotating said device, and for moving the piston'head within the cylinder during the closing movement, and means for eflecting the return rotative movement of said device during the opening movement of the door, said piston head maintaining its position within the cylinder during said opening movement. I

10. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means normally tending to close the door, and a device mounted partly on the lintel and partly on the door and comprising a piston acting in both directions to retard the closing of the door and adapted to exert no on position to the opening-of the door, the part to retard the latter portion of the closing movement of the door by both the inward and outward motions of said piston, the device being ineffective during the opening of the door and likewise inefiective during the first part of the closing movement of the door.

12. Apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination, a door, means comprising a piston and a device adapted to retard the rectilinear movement of the piston, means adapted to engage said piston and move it rectilinearly in both directions during the closing movement of the door, one of said means being located on the lintel and the other on the door, and means for returning said first means during the opening movement of the door to position for engagement with said second means, said second means acting in opening without causing rectilinear movement of the piston.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES G. FAIRCHILD.

Witnesses:

ROBERT P. OoNKLINc, EDWARD O. HOOKER.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0." p 

